PANASONIC AGDVXCCD MINI DV CAMCORDER IN SOUTH AFRICA

No camera in recent memory has generated as much buzz as the Panasonic AG-DVX100. There's more to this camera than just 24p, however. Form The large soft eyepiece on one end and a Leica Dicomar lens on the other create a very nice first impression. The handle running from front to back makes the DVX-100 easy to hold and control with one hand. A flip-out 3.5 LCD panel is located on the left side, just above two large dials for manually controlling the audio levels. There are six individual modes and two user modes that can be fully customized, which we found to be invaluable. This is definitely a sleeper feature on this camera that may be overlooked amid the all the 24p hoopla. There is a significant but small pause while the camera switches into the progressive modes (24p, 24p advanced and 30p). Strangely, auto focus does not function in any of the progressive modes. Function You can control the zoom using the fingertip rocker or via the handle, but we liked the responsive manual lens-barrel zoom the best (with stops and barrel markings). The DVX100 also has a manual focus ring located on the lens barrel, but, unlike the zoom, it isn't a true mechanical ring. We found the numerical representation of the focal distance in the viewfinder and LCD to be extremely useful. Optical image stabilization worked precisely and gave handheld shots an even and steady look. A tiny joystick above the LCD screen controls the camera in VTR mode. Pushing the joystick forward and backward fast-forwards and rewinds the tape and was easily operated in the field with one hand.